Growing demand for sustainable buildings is creating increased demand for traditional building services skills, says John Miller, president of the Heating & Ventilating Contractors’ Association.

Gateshead has become the first local authority in the UK to recycle its redundant lighting equipment since the introduction of the WEEE Directive (Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment) in July.

Pilkington has developed an insulating glass unit for windows that can be used with most frame materials to achieve a Window Energy Rating of at least C and easily exceed the requirement for compliance with Part L of the Building Regulations.

In a building with the right energy balance, using solar energy to produce domestic hot water can meet the 10% renewable requirement. Yan Evans gives practical advice how to get the best from this technology.

IES Consulting worked closely with consulting engineers King Shaw Associates (KSA) to provide independent validation of the design for the building that has achieved the highest-ever BREEAM score. The Green Office project at Thorpe Park, Leeds, has achieved a BREEAM score of 87.55%. The design was validated before construction began.

Exploiting thermal mass within a building can eliminate the need for air conditioning. Tom De Saulles explains how.

Monitored energy results for the first year of operation of the Archbishop Ryan School in Dublin indicate that its energy performance is twice as good as that of a school constructed to meet the good-practice targets outlined in CIBSE Guide F. Energy consumption was monitored by the Priva control system installed by Temperature Control Systems to optimise the operation of lighting and heating systems in response to the benefits of passive solar gain, daylight and natural ventilation.

OFTEC has brought together leading manufacturers and several industry bodies to research and define a clear British standard for liquid biofuel for the heating sector.

Glow-worm is entering the solar market with a range of products branded Clearly Solar. There are four products in the range.

Nu-Way’s EcoMass 75 range of biomass boilers is designed for commercial and industrial use, with five models providing outputs from 100 to 750 kW.

Keith Melton reflects on the thinking that is needed to deliver sustainable buildings.

Natural-ventilation systems that can respond fully to ever-changing outdoor conditions are much more effective than systems with limited response capability. Richard Arnott explains.

Helping companies moving into an office development at 15 Fetter Lane in the City of London reduce their carbon emissions is a lighting-management system from Ex-Or.

Two ground-source heat pumps provide heating and hot water for a development of 12 apartments and two penthouses on the Clipper Cove development at Praa Sands on the south coast of Cornwall.

DAB Pumps’ Aquaprof collects rainwater and uses it for purposes such as flushing toilets, washing machines, garden irrigation and vehicle washing. This water is delivered at mains pressure. If there is not enough stored rain water, the Aquaprof switches to an integral back-up tank containing mains water.

There is very little to be gain by improving the efficiency of pumps to reduce their energy consumption. Much more can be saved — about half — using speed control and the better design of systems, as John Veness explains.

It is over 60 years since a death was recorded in the UK in a building with a working sprinkler system. Glynn Williams cuts through the complexities of using pumps to protect against the risk of fire.

Replacing pumps in 12 plantrooms at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth with equivalent pumps from Wilo’s energy-efficient range will reduce energy consumption by £70 000 a year — a useful dent on the electricity bill of over £1 million a year.

Grundfos is moving into the third phase of its project to increase awareness of how using efficient circulators can significantly reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. The project started in 2005 with the launch of the world’s first A-rated domestic circulator — the Alpha Pro.

To help customers decide which pumps would best suit their needs, regardless of the application, Grundfos provides a range of selection tools —which have become industry standards. These aids are constantly reviewed and updated to keep them relevant.

Designing systems with duty and standby pumps that can both meet maximum demand is must not efficient. Wayne Rose explores other approaches.

Smedegaard has developed a range of electronic energy-saving circulators that use up to 60% less energy than a standard pump.

The Wilo-Stratos ECO high-efficiency pump has been given an 'excellent' rating by the German consumers’ association Stiftung Warentest. It came top in tests as the best in energy efficiency and ratio of price to performance compared to all other small circulating pumps.

Lee Tebbatt explains how variable-speed pumps very quickly repay their extra capital cost in vastly reduced running costs.

Over a hundred HVAC drives with native BACnet capability have been installed in the new Blackburn Hospital to control water pumps and motors for air-handling units. One of the key benefits was a significant time saving during commissioning.